Inlet manifold



A E: KoLBE INLET MANIFOLD April 21, 1959 2 Sheets-5h91'. 1

Filed Deo. e, 195e ATTORNEY April 21, 1,959 A. E. KoLBE 2,882,875

INLET MANIFOLD filed Dec. e, 195e 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent O INLET MANIFLD Application December 6, 1956, Serial No. 626,634

1 Claim. (Cl. 123-52) This invention relates to inlet manifolds for internal combustion engines and has particular relation to an inlet A manifold which is especially applicable for use with V-type 8 cylinder internal combustion engines for automotive and other uses.

It has been the practice to employ double H-type manifolds for V-type 8 cylinder internal combustion engines for automotive and other uses. These manifolds have excellent mixture distribution characteristics, but they are expensive and tend to increase the overall height of the engine. The coring involved in casting such manifolds and the expensive scrap resulting from their casting causes inlet manifolds of this type to be one of the most expensive items involved in the manufacture of engines. It is now proposed to construct a much more simple and less expensive inlet manifold for V-type 8 cylinder or other engines, and one that will be practically as efficient in the distribution of mixture to the engine as the much more complicated and expensive manifolds now being employed. The manifold also will be substantially lower than other manifolds at the surface where the carburetor of the engine is supported, thus resulting in an engine smaller of dimensions.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a manifold body especially applicable for employment with a V-type 8 cylinder engine. Parts of the body are broken away and shown in cross section to better illustrate the manifold passages formed within the body.

Figure 2 is a side elevational View of the manifold body illustrated by Figure l.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross section view of the manifold body illustrated by the preceding figures. Figure 3 is taken substantially in the plane of line 3 3 of Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows thereon.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the manifold body, taken substantially in the plane of line 4-4 on Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows thereon.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 5-5 on Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows thereon.

The manifold body 10 embodying the invention is an elongated body having parallel side walls 11 adapted to be secured by bolts or other suitable means to the head and block structure of a V-type 8 cylinder engine. In the present instance the body 10 is an elongated relatively flat plate structure made especially for Chevrolet V-typc 8 cylinder engines. The at plate structure is adapted to be secured to the end walls of the block and to the side Walls of the engine heads to provide an integral part of the engine frame. The body 10 may be cast or otherwise formed. The central part of the body 10 extends upwardly to provide a support 12 to which the carburetor of the engine may be secured by bolts extending into the openings 13. The support 12 has a mixture supply passage 14 formed to extend downwardly therein in substantially vertical relation to the engine when the engine is installed in a motor vehicle. The supply passage 14 is a passage such as might be employed with a single barrel carburetor. However, the passage 14 may be made larger or in any other manner so that multiple barrel carburetors may be used. The lower end of the passage 14 terminates in a supply chamber 16 which is generally cylindrical in formation, is disposed in coaxial relation to the passage 14, and is somewhat larger in diameter than the supply passage 14. The lower wall 17 formed in a body 10vhas an inner surface disposed substantially normally to the axes of the supply chamber 16 and the supply passage 14. Formed in the body 10 and extending outwardly therein in different directions are groups 18 of mixturedistribution passages 19. One of the passages 19 is adapted to lead toeach cylinder of the engine with which the manifold is employed. In the present instance each group 18 of the passages are separated by common walls 21 extending from the inlet to the outlet ends of the distribution ypassages 19. The inner ends of the distribution passages 19 are formed by radially disposed inlets 22, each communicating with the supply chamber 16. The inlets 22 are substantially uniform in size and are distributed around the supply chamber 16 in equal angular relation. The lower extremities of the inlets 22 are somewhat above the inner surface of the wall 17 to provide a liquid collecting sump indicated at 23. The outlet end of the supply passage 14 is enlarged somewhat as is indicated at 24 to merge with the supply chamber 16. Immediately adjacent the supply chamber 16 the passages 19 are all separated by parallel wall ends indicated at 2S. The wall ends 25 all extend radially outwardly to an extent which is sufficient to form the inlets 22 for the distribution passages 19 to extend radially with respect to the supply passage 16 and in uniform relation to the distribution passages 19. In order to vaporize any liquid that may collect in the sump 23 it is proposed to heat the wall 17 by exhaust gas or other suitable heated fluid circulating in a heating passage 26 formed across the body 10'. In the present instance the ends of the heating passage 26 terminate in ports 27 formed in the side walls 11, the ports being adapted to be supplied with exhaust gas or other suitable heating liuid from the heads of the engine to which the walls 11 are secured. The distribution passages 19 have outlets 28 formed in pairs within the walls 11. The pairs of outlets 28 are spaced in the side walls 11 and are positioned to locate one pair of outlets between the supply passage 14 and each of the ends of the walls 11.

It wil be noted that the distribution passages 19 extend awayfrom the supply chamber 16 in substantially parallel relation and do not cross one another. This has been considered an unacceptable practice in modern engines, by reason of the fact that it is necessary to supply fuel to the engine from different but adjacent passages communicating with the same supply chamber. However, in the present instance the practice of providing parallel passages that do not cross one another is found to be acceptable and in fact desirable. It makes the manifold much simpler and inexpensive and the distribution of charges to the cylinders of the engine has been found to be excellent. The reason for this appears to be in the construction of the supply passage, the supply chamber and the relation thereof to the inlets leading to the distribution passages of the manifold. It will be apparent fom Figures 3, 4 and 5 that any charge supplied to the supply chamber 16 will enter the supply chamber through the supply passage 14. Since all of the distribution passage inlets 22 are uniformly related to the supply chamber 16 the order in which charges are supplied to the cylinders through the distribution passages 19 is of no consequence. The Wall 17 stops the axial llow of the mixture in the supply passage 14 and the supply chamber 16 and 'there is an equal tendency of the mixture to flow in all directions. The wall ends 24 all terminate in the supply chamber which is not much larger than the supply passage 14 so that there is no noticeable tendency for the inertia of the fluid moving into any inlet to starve an adjacent inlet. The uid will ow in an adjacent inlet just as well as it will ow in an oppositely disposed or other inlet leading from the supply chamber 16.

I claim:

An inlet manifold for V-type internal combustion engines having parallel rows of cylinders and comprising, a body having parallel sides, said body being adapted to extend between said rows of cylinders with said sides connected to said rows, a supply passage formed in the central part of said body and extending into said body from the outer surface thereof, said supply passage being enlarged to provide a supply chamber within said body, a plurality of distribution passagesformed in said body and having the inner ends thereof providing inlets communicating with said supply chamber, said inlets being radially disposed and equally spaced about and surrounding said supply chamber, said body between said inlets being formed by walls separating said inlets and said passages with the ends of said walls adjacent said supply chamber being parallel and equally spaced and equally distant from the aXis of said supply chamber, said wall ends at said supply chamber also being radially directed toward the axis of said supply chamber, said inlets between said parallel wall ends being of greater width axially of said supply chamber than radially of said supply chamber and being uniformly related to said supply chamber, said distribution passages terminating in said parallel sides on opposite sides of said separating Walls and in the same relation as said inlets.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,902 Barkeij Aug. 27, 1935 2,640,471 Haltenberger June 2, 1953 2,730,339 Presnell ..-e- Jan. 10, 1956 20 2,766,748 Kern Oct. 16, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 620,251 GreatBritain Mar.2`2,1949 

